As a child, I can easily remember my prized possession was a Walt Disney book that my father purchased for me and it featured the chronology of the early classic Walt Disney bewitching shorts. Some of these shorts were shown on the Disney Channel when I was younger but suffice to say, with all the unique animation, a lot of these classics have probably been forgotten or have been released on VHS video.
Buy,Download, Or Stream Disney Animation Collection 6: The Reluctant Dragon! Click Here
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are now releasing a few of these shorts on DVD for the first time (some have appeared on past Disney DVD releases) . With the first three volumes released, the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes will be released on May 12, 2009.
A lot of these short films were created in the 1920-1940′s and typically featured characters that were not reoccurring (with the exception of the tortoise and the hare which appeared in a second short) . Some were released under the “Humorous Symphony” moniker of sharp shorts released between 1929-1939 which rarely featured any character dialogue but focused more on the animation accompanied by music and a singing vocal track.
Buy,Download, Or Stream Disney Animation Collection 6: The Reluctant Dragon! Click Here
Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 6: The Reluctant Dragon
The “Walt Disney Animation Collection” sixth volume features the least amount of shorts than previous volumes but each short featured in this volume is a bit longer in duration than most Walt Disney shorts. Also, unlike the older and shorter absorbing shorts, these shorts included in vol. 6 gain dialogue.
1. The Reluctant Dragon – (20:38) This Technicolor 1994 gripping short features a boy who is friends with a dragon. He finds out that the knight Sir Giles from his village has been sent to extinguish the dragon and that he should prepare to fight. But the dragon is reluctant to fight and prefers to read poetry and reveal birds to content.
2. Ferdinand the Bull – (7:59) A technicolor absorbing short from 1938 about a runt bull in Spain named Ferdinand who prefers to be alone and be amongst the flowers in the pasture and not be with the other bulls. As he grew older, because he got stung by a bee, he is featured in a public bullfight in which he must fight a matador but once in front of the public, is unable to fight and instead enjoys the flowers around him.
3. Goliath II – (15:07) A 1960 though-provoking short about Goliath II, a slight elephant that is not appreciated by his father because of his petite stature. His mother protects him though, especially from a tiger named Raja who wants to eat Goliath II. Goliath II tends to catch himself into difficulty and is often rescued and scolded by his mother. Will Goliath II ever win the respect from his father and the elephant herd?
4. Johnny Appleseed – (18:41) A 1948 curious short about the legendary Johnny Appleseed who traveled the West with the American pioneers and planted apple seeds during his proceed. Based on the lawful adventures of John Chapman who traveled the wilderness planting thousands of apple trees.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Walt Disney Animation Collection” is featured with an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. These classics are available on DVD for the first time but its well-known to mention that these entertaining shorts have not been digitally remastered or cleaned up.
As a matter of fact, you will behold a lot of the dust and scratches of the film and some of the animation discover lovely for being nearly 70 years primitive but others seek grainy and a bit old. Granted, these are not classic tubby featured films but I hope one of these days, many of these classics do glean cleaned up or even digitally remastered.
As for the audio, audio is featured in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. I found that on my home theater system, the best selection on my receiver to concept these spellbinding shorts was to switch it to mono or (if you have this capability) assume stereo for all channels.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are no special features included on this DVD. But each volume does advance with a free collectible litho print.
JUDGMENT CALL:
As mentioned earlier in my review, my prized possession as a child was a Walt Disney booklet that covered the Walt Disney inspiring shorts in chronological order and had the opportunity to seek these classics. Now as an adult with children, a lot of the animation from Walt Disney that my child sees is the latest in CG animation.
But I wanted him to sit and survey these inspiring shorts with me and clear enough, he enjoyed them. These inviting shorts, the majority of them are simple and have no dialogue. Objective music and sound effects (there were a few especially all from vol. 6 that have dialogue) but nevertheless, are simple and easy to understand.
For fans of classic Walt Disney animation and you attractive great have moved on away from your VHS copies, the “Walt Disney Animation Collection” is a huge collection of your classic Disney lively shorts on DVD.
Many people who have purchased the “Walt Disney Treasures” DVD box sets from 2001, “Walt Disney’s Timeless Tales” from 2005 or the “Walt Disney’s It’s a Runt World of Fun!” DVD release from 2007 probably may not need any of these shorts as quite a number of them have appeared on DVD already.
But a few of the short films that are featured on the six volumes of “Walt Disney Animation Collection” have not been released on DVD until now.
Overall, It all comes down to your preference to the classic bright shorts from long ago and whether or not you owned previous releases. For those who haven’t owned the previous Disney DVD shorts or box sets, now is a well-behaved time to open because a lot of the past releases have been discontinued.
Otherwise, if you are a person who already owns the previous DVD releases that beget these shorts, unfortunately, these absorbing shorts offer nothing unusual and are not digitally remastered. There may be a few titles on these DVD’s that have not been released before on prior Walt Disney DVD’s but it all comes down to your preference and if these episodes are worth having on DVD.
But if you are a parent or grandparent who wants to explain your children or grandchildren the Walt Disney animation that you grew up with or a person who has never seen these shorts and have been lively about them, then definitely give “Walt Disney Animation Collection” a chance.
I’ve raised 3 kids on this video and seen it a dozen times.
It’s always novel and among the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
A few lines stick with me as classics.
The animation is objective palatable.
The poetry “slam” is hilarious, as is the gigantic battle scene.
Hey, it’s time I watched it again.
Rapid Weight Loss